NFL suspends referee Adrian Hill, line judge Jeff Seeman after separate player incidents in Week 4

The NFL suspended a pair of officials on Monday after they were involved in separate incidents during games on Sunday.

Line judge Jeff Seeman was suspended for two games on Monday, the league announced, and referee Adrian Hill was suspended for a single game. The suspensions, which were issued by the NFL’s vice president of officiating, were due to instances of “unprofessional conduct toward a player.”

Seeman got into what appeared to be a heated exchange with Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride on Sunday during their 36-24 loss to the New York Giants. Seeman had some choice words for McBride on the sidelines, which were not picked up by the CBS microphones, but he clearly wasn’t happy with him. The moment came after officials declined to call a pass interference penalty on the defense on a critical third-down attempt to McBride. 

NFL Players Association JC Tretter called out Seeman on social media after the game. 

“This kind of behavior from an official towards a player is unacceptable,” Tretter wrote. “Players are consistently held accountable when the roles are reversed. We expect the NFL to hold officials to the same standard.”

“This kind of behavior from an official towards a player is unacceptable,” Tretter wrote. “Players are consistently held accountable when the roles are reversed. We expect the NFL to hold officials to the same standard.”

Hill was involved in an incident with Vikings linebacker Eric Wilson and Dolphins running back Ollie Gordon during Minnesota’s 15-10 win on Sunday. Wilson and Gordon were engaged, and Gordon was blocking Wilson back into Hill even after the whistle was blown. Hill was knocked down to the turf hard. 

But Hill jumped right up and started screaming at Wilson, who reached out to offer him a hand up. Also, if anything, it appeared as if Gordon was the one responsible. 

The NFL also launched an investigation into that incident, though no penalty or ejection was called in the moment.

Hill will be able to return to the field in Week 6 of the season, while Seeman will be sidelined until Week 7.

This post will be updated with more information shortly.